Over the years, incidents of car theft have grown. Although most car manufacturers have made some strides in making cars more "thief proof," current locking mechanisms suffer from several limitations. In particular, known locking mechanisms are mechanically linked to the portion of the car door that operates when the door is opened without being locked. Current car door locks operate by turning a key which mechanically actuates the locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is linked to the door opening mechanism so that the door lock prevents operation of the opening mechanism. Unlocking the door allows the opening mechanism to operate. By using a bent coat hanger or a "slim jim", which is a flat piece of metal with a notch in the bottom, a thief can override the known types of car door locks to open a car door as quickly as can be done using a key. Because known car door locks are tied to the door operating means, the way to unlock a car door to steal the car are always accessible, at least to some degree, to a potential thief.
One way to overcome at least a portion of the above problem has been to remove from the car door the key mechanism for operating the door lock. A popular way to do this has been to provide to the user a remote control car door key. With such a device, the user retains in his possession the linkage that usually exists between the key and the locking mechanism. After-market vehicle security devices are available that allow the owner to remotely open or close the lock, but these may still be overridden by using a "slim jim" or other means to actuate the locking mechanism. This is due to the fact that even with the remote control devices, the mechanical linkage between the door key and lock mechanism and the operating mechanism still exists.
Thus, there is a need for an effective convenient door lock that does not use a mechanical mechanism or linkage between the door key and the door opening mechanism.
There is a need for a car door lock that removes any linkage between the locking mechanism and the door opening mechanism.
There is the need for a car door lock that cannot be overridden by a "slim jim" or other device.
Moreover, there is a need for a device that a car owner can use to lock his car door so that only the user has the ability to open the car door and for which the means to open the car door are not easily accessible on the door.